Help.....improving gpa, resume,post bac work, possible masters!!!

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starrz329

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Hi, right now I'm a senior rite now in NYC. My GPA overall is 3.43 (3.1 science). In the next couple of years I want to work on increasing my GPA and also improving my resume for med school. I would like to take genetics the summer that I graduate and then go to grad school in the fall. Also in a year to a year and a half I would like to take pathophysiology or any other upper level biology course to help my GPA out. Does this sound like a solid game plan to any one, and if anyone has any ideas or suggestions, please feel free to add your thoughts, thank you so much.
 
Taking the MCAT will improve your resume for med school.

If you haven't taken anatomy, do it. Just learning all the terminology will help a ton. Other than that, take whatever you want, and get A's.

And work in a hospital if you can. I'd say that is more important at this point. You're only going to improve you GPA so much.
 
Are you going to graduate school solely as a way to improve your application to med schools? If so, I would say skip it altogether. You would help out your application a lot more simply by taking more classes (and getting A's) and strengthening your research and volunteer experiences. Make sure you have a solid plan to study for and take the MCAT as well.
 
well yea, i figured since those would be graduate courses i would be taking in a masters program like they would see that i can handle rigorous course work, and also I would have the opportunity to do some good research too
 
well yea, i figured since those would be graduate courses i would be taking in a masters program like they would see that i can handle rigorous course work, and also I would have the opportunity to do some good research too

Nope. The only masters programs that med schools care about, that can sufficiently demonstrate academic rigor against a lower undergrad GPA, are SMPs or medical masters. That's a terminal masters degree in which you effectively do the first year of med school to prove you can do med school. Expensive, competitive, and you only get one shot. See the postbac forum for more info.
 
Don't take masters coursework. Nobody will give a **** about it.
 
well yea, i figured since those would be graduate courses i would be taking in a masters program like they would see that i can handle rigorous course work, and also I would have the opportunity to do some good research too

As stated above, a regular master's program is not going to help your application. If you're stuck on the master's degree idea, you can enroll in an SMP like they have at Georgetown where you take actual classes with medical students. Those programs usually require you to have taken the MCAT already and have strict GPA cutoffs as well.

Although, since you're posting in the DO forum, I'm assuming you're open to applying DO... I would just stay an extra year in undergrad and retake those classes you did poorly in... since DO schools replace grades instead of averaging them, your GPA could improve dramatically in quite a short amount of time.
 
The SMP I'm currently enrolled in doesn't have ridiculously strict GPA/MCAT cut-offs like Georgetown's. We also take the first-year medschool courses but separately from the medschool students at a slightly slower pace (about 1 credit hour less per week). We're on a quarter system. The classes are hard. But I've already learned more in the past 3 weeks of class than I did in 3 sem of my undergrad. PM me if you want more info, they just started my program this year; it may be more competitive to get in next year but probably not by much. Oh, and I would NOT suggest taking genetics to boost your sci-GPA. That is the only class (out of 154 undergrad credits) where I earned less than a B. It really sticks out on my transcript, and wasn't even a necessary pre-med requirement. Plus I really don't think medschools will care even if you do decide to take it. Like another poster mentioned, taking classes like anatomy, physiology, histology, and other stuff they do in medschool will mean more to adcoms than some random undergrad non-medschool requirements. In terms of re-applying, I've also found that not having a physician LOR handy can really hurt your chances at admission. For D.O. schools, 80% of them won't even look at your primary application without one. So yeah definitely focus on the MCAT and doing as much clinical work as you can, getting updated LOR's, etc. and if you want to go for the master's I would highly suggest the 1-yr SMP 🙂

Good luck!
 
It's really odd that you guys say no one cares about Masters, but the DO I am shadowing(head of residency education) has told me to try and get an MPH while getting my degree because it will help me in my field. Had he not gotten the administrative position that was offered to him, he had planned to go back to school and get it after 5 years in practice.
 
It's really odd that you guys say no one cares about Masters, but the DO I am shadowing(head of residency education) has told me to try and get an MPH while getting my degree because it will help me in my field. Had he not gotten the administrative position that was offered to him, he had planned to go back to school and get it after 5 years in practice.

All other things being equal (GPA, EC, MCAT, etc.), the addition of a master's could potentially boost one's application. But would a masters make up for a sub-par GPA to being with? Nope. The OP would make his application a lot stronger by concentrating on improving his weak points, not by trying to compensate for them by gaining additional degrees.
 
thanx so much, this has really helped me alot, another question though, it there ne way i can take out student loans to help pay for school?
 
If you get an MPH, and you intend to use it, and you talk about this in your personal statement, and make it clear that you plan on going into some kind of administrative or MPH-relevant position, then it could help you. If you just take a bunch of masters-level courses, or get an MS in biology or something, nobody will give a ****.
 
On the other hand...I got my Masters in Biology along with 5 other people whom I was friends with.

4 of them got into Brody SOM
1 of them got into Wake Forest SOM

We all had subpar GPA's, I had to wait around another year b/c of research issues...ie...lazy thesis advisor
 
"If you get an MPH, and you intend to use it, and you talk about this in your personal statement, and make it clear that you plan on going into some kind of administrative or MPH-relevant position, then it could help you. If you just take a bunch of masters-level courses, or get an MS in biology or something, nobody will give a ****. "

You crack me up man, gotta love the straightforward, honest response.



Justin
 
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